Your Trainer, My Pokemon
by Euphoria994
Summary: When a young Pokemon decides that he wants to become a Pokemon trainer, he knows that his journey will not easy. As he is beset by obstacles from both without and within, he finds himself learning much more than he thought he would about dreams, loss, and friendship.
1. The Pursuit Begins

Chapter 1 – The Pursuit Begins

"Tepig! Use Flame Charge!" Sam yelled, pointing at the wild Watchog she and her Pokemon were currently battling. A few feet away, her Tepig nodded, then dodged the Crunch attack from the large rodent, leaping sideways and rolling to his feet before turning back to face it with a determined expression. The Watchog scowled at the small fire Pokemon, red and yellow eyes showing nothing but fury at the smaller Pokemon's speed.

"Teee..." Tepig growled, his nostrils flaring as he surrounded himself with hot flames, the heat from them forcing Sam to bring a hand up to protect her eyes. Then her starter charged straight at the Watchog, the latter surprised at the head-on attack, as the Tepig had mostly been on the ropes for most of the fight. With a great leap, the pig flew through the air and crashed directly into the Watchog headfirst, eyes closed and teeth gritted.

"WAAAA!" the rodent cried out in pain, flying back a few feet from the force of the tackle. It skidded along the grass, stopping when it impacted against one of the surrounding forest's trees, knocking it unconscious. Tepig meanwhile, had managed to land on all fours and stood up, looking rather surprised that his attack had worked as well as it did. He smiled happily up at Sam, his tail wagging excitedly. Sam simply nodded and smiled back, then she reached into her vest, pulling out a red and white poke ball.

At the same moment she pulled it out, a bush behind her stirred.

Sam clicked a button on the ball, making it increase in size before gripping it tightly in her hand. "Alright! Poke ball go!" she yelled, hurling the ball at the Watchog. The rodent opened it's eyes just in time to see the ball heading towards it, then it felt it bounce off its head, a red light shooting out and encompassing it before sucking back into the ball and closing tightly. The ball shook along the ground a few moment, the button beeping red and a small alert noise coming from it. Then after a moment, a small click was heard, and Sam's eyes widened along with Tepig's.

"Tepig..." Sam said, letting out a breath she hadn't noticed she had held. "We did it. We got him!"

"Tepig!" the starter responded, running over and grabbing the poke ball with his mouth. He brought it over to Sam, who chuckled at the cute sight of her Pokemon standing there with his tail wagging, still managing to smile despite the ball in his mouth. She grabbed the ball and studied it for a moment before putting it back into her vest.

The bush stirred again.

"Great job Tepig. You did better than I thought you would." Sam said, bending down and scratching her Tepig under his chin. The Pokemon's eyes wet half-lidded as she rubbed that one sensitive spot of his, smiling weakly up at his trainer.

"I bet you're tired aren't you?" Sam asked. Tepig at that same moment let out a sigh of exhaustion, answering her question.

"Here, you should rest for awhile." Sam said, pulling out another pokeball from her vest. "I'll see if I can get you to a pokemon center, that way we can head out again."

Tepid closed his eyes and didn't resist as his trainer gently tapped the ball against his head, disappearing in a flash of red light into the ball. Sam stood back up, placing the ball back into her vest pocket and taking a breath. She pulled out her Pokédex and looked up her digital map, trying to find the nearest center.

Suddenly, a rustling of leaves sounded from behind her, and Sam felt a twinge of fear go through her. She didn't have any Pokemon to defend herself with at the moment. She turned around, looking out at the surrounding forest.

"Is someone there?" she called out, trying not to sound scared. Then she saw it, a pair of eyes staring back at her from inside of a bush. The eyes widened as they met hers, and then they ducked down, the leaves rustling as it moved.

"Hey, wait!" Sam said, sounding more curious than scared now. "Come on out. I won't hurt you."

There was a small pause. Then slowly, the eyes came back up to look at her again, narrowing in suspicion. Sam just smiled back, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible, although she did grip her Pokédex a little tighter.

Then slowly, the eyes began to move closer, and soon, a white skull was pushing its way through the leaves. Sam's heart did a leap at the sight at first, but then she saw the rest of the creature, and she took a breath of relief.

"Cubone. When it thinks of its dead mother, it cries. Its crying makes the skull it wears rattle hollowly. Native to the Kanto region." Sam's Pokédex announced, reading the info about said Pokémon as it stood only a couple of feet away from the trainer, staring unblinkingly. Sam looked down and read the Pokédex entry again, the last part catching her off guard.

"Native to Kanto?" she said with a confused expression. "Then how did it get all the way here to Unova?" she whispered to herself.

"Cubone." a deep gravely voice said. and Sam felt something prod at her foot. She gasped and leapt back in shock, not having noticed the Cubone approach her. She dropped her Pokédex at the same time, here it bounced off the Cubone's head and landed on the ground. The Cubone picked it up and studied it, fascinated by the device.

"Er...may I have that back?" Sam asked, looking slightly embarrassed. The Cubone looked up at her, the mask making it look rather intimidating, and Sam feared that it certainly wouldn't give it back. But the Cubone simply walked up to her and held the Pokédex out, where Sam took it after a moment's hesitation.

"So little guy. Where did you come from?" Sam asked, trying her best to sound friendly. "You have a trainer?"

"Cu...bone." the Pokemon said. Sam hadn't really gotten the hang of understanding Pokemon language yet; as of yet, she could hardly even tell what Tepig was saying sometimes. But from the slump in the Cubone's shoulders, she could tell that it was saying no.

"Oh ok, so um..." she said. "I'd ask where you came from, but I don't really know how to speak your language yet so...yeah." she rubbed the back of her head uneasily, the Cubone blinking once at her.

"Cubone Cu?" it said, pointing it's paw at her. Sam looked at it confusedly, looking around to see what the Pokemon was pointing at. Then the Cubone grabbed its bone and tapped her vest with it, and it became clear.

"This? This is a vest. My mom made it for me." Sam said. The Cubone's head dipped down a little at the mention of her mother, and Sam felt a pang of guilt go through her. She decided to just continue on, and hope that would distract the orphan Pokemon. "It's pretty useful. Let's me carry everything I need without having to buy one of those high quality backpacks."

The Cubone nodded its head at her, looking curiously at the vest. Sam felt a little uncomfortable from its gaze, so she decided to try and and change the subject. "You wanna come with me?" she asked, looking hopeful. "I could use the company."

The Cubone nodded eagerly. Sam clasped her hands together in joy. "Alright, let me just look for the nearest Pokemon center. I have a couple Pokemon that need some attention." she explained, opening her map again and scrolling through the forest she was in.

Suddenly, a loud grumbling noise sounded through the forest, and Sam looked all around before seeing that the Cubone was rubbing its stomach softly. "I take it you're hungry?" Sam said. "No problem. I have some Pokefood." she said, reaching into her vest yet again and pulling out a colorful package. "I was saving it for Tepig, but I think he'll be fine for now."

Cubone grabbed the package from her and nodded thankfully, eating the food by grabbing a small handful and bringing it under it's skull to its mouth, chewing audibly.

"Why don't you take off that skull? It'd probably be easier to eat." Sam suggested. The Cubone looked up at her with wide eyes, clearly surprised at the suggestion. Sam blushed sheepishly. "Sorry, I forgot about the whole 'mother' thing. Just forget I said it, I promise I won't mention it anymore." The Cubone seemed to be satisfied with this response, going back to eating. It wasn't long before the package was empty, and the Cubone looked down at it sadly.

"Cubone?" it asked, tapping her vest again with it's bone.

"Sorry, I don't have any more." Sam said. "If we head over to town though-"

"Cu?" the Pokemon said again, tapping her vest again. Sam sighed as she felt the Cubone prod at her again and again, looking for evidence of more food. With resignation, she took off her vest, opening it inside out and showing the pockets inside.

"See? No food." Sam said, shaking the blue vest to emphasize her point. The Cubone's eyes turned to disappointment, but it still reached a paw up, clearly wanting to see for itself. Sam sighed and let the Pokemon take it, watching as the Cubone studied it and felt the soft cloth. Unexpectedly, however, she watched as the Cubone pulled the vest over his shoulders. It was a bit too big for him, as he was only just over a foot tall, and the arm holes were much to wide for his form. This didn't seem to matter to much to him though, as he smiled proudly, his eyes closed in satisfaction.

"Like it huh?" Sam chuckled, thinking the Cubone looked cute wearing it. She raised her Pokédex again, looking down at her map. "Ok, so the center's northwest where we are. Now I just need to see-"

A pitter patter of feet sounded, and Sam looked up to see a surprising sight. The Cubone was running into the forest, still wearing her vest.

"Hey!" she cried. "Get back here!" She ran after him, closing her Pokédex and stuffing it in her pants pocket. The dark blue color of the vest stood out a mile amongst the forest greenery, so it was rather easy for her to keep the Cubone in sight. However, for such a small and pudgy Pokemon, it was hard to keep up with, as it constantly swerved and ducked through under roots, brush, and logs that slowed the larger trainer down. Sam wasn't deterred though, and she managed to gain on the Cubone bit by bit.

Soon, Sam was only a foot away from the pokemon, and she reached a hand out to grab her vest. Her fingers were practically touching the skull he wore, and she prepared to grab the Cubone's helmet and yank it off, knowing he would be desperate to get it back and trade it for her vest. Then, as luck would have it, her foot caught on an upturned root, sending her crashing to the ground. She groaned and looked up from the grass just in time to see the Cubone disappear into the forest. The empty package of Pokefood floated down in front of her, the only evidence of the Cubone she had.

"Tepig..."

...

Cubone couldn't believe his luck as he pushed his way through the forest, panting and sweating with exhaustion. He hadn't had to run that much or that fast in awhile. He leaned against a tree to catch his breath for a moment, then settled into a slow walk.

He had been trailing that girl for two whole days, watching and waiting for the right time to steal that vest. Who would have thought that she would actually give it to him directly? Sure, he felt a little bad that he had stolen it from literally right under her nose, but it was a small price to pay for the plans that he had. He would pay her back...someday...if he could find her...

He entered a forest clearing where there were few branches overhead, letting the sun shine down onto a large area of fresh green grass. Cubone took a deep breath of fresh air, in a much better mood than when he had first arrived in Unova. All that hard work to get here hadn't been for waste...he had a starter now, after all, along with a bonus Watchog!

His paws trembling with excitement, he reached into the vest pocket and pulled out two pokeballs. He clicked each button and tossed them forward, unable to stop himself from grinning with childlike glee. Tepig and Watchog both appeared with a flash of red light, Tepig letting out a tired yawn and Watchog looking rather sour as they appeared on the grass. Then Tepig laid eyes on Cubone, and his expression turned to confusion.

"Sam?" he said, looking around for her. "Where are you?" he said. Then he saw Watchog right next to him, and he leapt back, not expecting to see his earlier opponent out already, especially since he was still a little worn out.

"Don't look at me porky." Watchog snapped, rubbing the back of his bruised head. "I don't know where the hell she is."

Tepig looked back at Cubone, who was practically shaking with excitement

"Have you seen our trainer anywhere?" he asked. Cubone suddenly looked nervous...he hadn't really thought about how he would explain this.

"'Our' trainer?" Watchog scoffed. "More like 'your' owner."

"We beat you fair and square!" Tepig argued, growling a little.

"Quit fighting you two!" Cubone commanded in a sudden show of confidence. Then it quickly evaporated at the looks both Pokemon gave him, and a bead of sweat dropped down his head. "Uh...Sam isn't here right now, because...she gave you two to me!" he said, looking happy with his lie.

Both Watchog and Tepig looked at one another and raised an eyebrow each, looking unconvinced.

"Really?" Tepig said. "And I suppose she just 'gave' you her custom made vest too?" he accused, pointing at the dark blue vest Cubone was still wearing.

"Looks better on him than on her." Watchog snarked.

"Shut up." Tepig growled in response. Watchog's eyes narrowed at the small fire pokemon, but Tepig had already turned back to Cubone. "So, where is she?" he asked again, a bit of smoke coming out of his nostrils.

"Uh...don't worry about her, she's...gone now." Cubone said nervously, trying to find a way to say things.

Watchog and Tepig looked taken aback at his words. "Geez, now I feel bad." Watchog said, looking off to the side with an annoyed expression.

"You killed her?!" Tepid cried, a few embers coming out of his nose in anger.

"No no no no no! She isn't dead!" Cubone said, raising his paws up. "She's just...I'm just...I'm your new trainer!" he spat out, looking desperate.

Both Tepig and Watchog did a double take. "I'm sorry, you're what now?" Tepig asked, looking puzzled.

"Your new trainer!" Cubone said again, glad that the pig was no longer literally breathing fire.

There was a small pause. The Watchog burst out into laughter, rolling on the floor while Cubone became indignant and Tepig looked on in disbelief.

"Bahahaha! Haha, oh man, that was good dude! Oh Arceus, that's rich!" he said, wiping a tear from his eye. He took a breath, still smirking with contained mirth. "But seriously, you have to be joking. Pokemon can't be trainers."

"Who says?" Cubone said defiantly.

"Uh...I do, cause you're not my trainer." Watchog answered in a cruel tone, and Cubone felt like a ton of bricks were crashing down on him.

"Yeah, Sam is." Tepig said. Watchog rolled his eyes at the fire pokemon's words, but otherwise didn't respond.

"Well...I don't need you! Tepig and I are gonna take this all the way to the Elite Four, right Tepig?" Cubone said slightly desperately. When Tepig just pawed at the ground a bit in embarrassment, the Cubone felt his heart sink. "Right?" he repeated.

"Listen." Tepig said, his tone nice, but firm. "That sounds like a cool idea, but...I already have a trainer. Her name's Sam, and she's probably looking for me right now. I just want to find her." Tepig said.

"But...but I-I..." Cubone sputtered, sounding like he was about ready to cry.

"It's stupid to want to be a trainer dude. You're a Pokemon. Only humans can be trainers, simple as that." Watchog said, crossing his arms as he did so.

"SHUT UP!" Cubone suddenly yelled in rage, making both Tepig and Watchog jump. "I'm your trainer, and you're my Pokemon!" He reached into his vest for an empty pokeball. "Now, you two are going to-"

Then his words cut off and his eyes widened as suddenly a red light surrounded him and he disappeared, the blue vest falling to the floor. The pokeball he had touched fell to the ground, blinking a couple times before locking with a click.

Both Tepig and Watchog stared.

"Idiot." Watchog said, then he turned to face the Tepig with his intimidating glare. "So, where were we?"

"Well, we gotta find Sam, she can't be that far, we battled not too long ago." Tepig said.

"Let me rephrase that." Watchog said with a devilish grin. "Where was I in the middle of our battle?"

Tepig eyes widened, and he began to back away slowly from the approaching rodent. "Hey, back off! I...I beat you last time!" he said.

"You don't say?" Watchog asked, his grin becoming wider. "So I guess you'll have no trouble beating me again?"

"Uhhhh..." Tepig wondered for a moment. Then he turned and bolted into the forest, the Watchog hot on his heels.

Meanwhile, the pokeball simply lay on the ground with the vest right beside it in a crumpled heap, alone and forgotten.


	2. Mother and Son

Chapter 2 – Mother and Son

"Mommy?" he called out as he walked into the small cave that he called home. It was getting dark out, and the rest of his friends had already turned in for the night. Despite the short walk he took back home alone each day, it was later than usual for him to come back this night, but he always felt safe in this part of Kanto. Out here, there was little to fear other than the large nest of Beedrill in the corner of the forest he always avoided. No sense in starting a fight with those guys.

He took another step into the cave when suddenly he heard a loud and deep noise come from inside. He froze up where he stood, never having heard that noise in his home before. He felt a chill go up his spine, and he took a step back from the darkness.

"Mommy, are you in here?" he called out again, desperately wanting an answer. He shivered in fear, his eyes becoming watery as he peered into the dark cave. He couldn't see anything at all...wait a minute, was that a-

Then, without warning, a large figure leaped out of the darkness and scooped him up into it's arms. A surge of adrenaline went through his body, and he instantly tried to escape, but the arms held him fast. "MOMMY!" he screamed out in fear, still trying to pull away from the firm grip he was in.

"Right here darling." he heard a soft familiar voice say, and he froze, a tear falling down his cheek. He looked up at the figure, seeing his mother's face, visible only by the moonlight coming from the cave's opening. She was smiling playfully, despite the hyperventilating, crying son she held in her hands.

"Y-you s-scared m-me." he blubbered, breaking down into harsh sobs and digging his face into her chest.

"I'm sorry my child." she apologized, her tone both sincere and a little upset. "But you know, I was scared too when you didn't come home at dawn like you promised."

He stopped sniffling for a second, a look of realization coming over him before resuming his crying. He felt a hand come up and rub his back, comforting him as the adrenaline rush and fear from a moment ago faded, replaced by sympathy and embarrassment.

"I'm s-sorry, mommy." he whispered. "I didn't mean to be so late. I was just having so much fun, and then Caterpie found me on my way back and...and..."

"Shhh, it's alright sweetie. I understand." his mother said, pressing a paw to his lips, still smiling down at him. "Just remember, I'll always be waiting for you when everything is over." she said. She sat down against the wall of the cave, setting him on her lap in his usual sleeping position.

He sighed and felt tiredness come over him as the last of his fear left him. "Mommy..."

...

Suddenly, Cubone found himself being released out of his accidental prison into what looked like a kid's bedroom. He rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the light and stretching his body to get rid of the cramped feeling his muscles had. He never liked the feeling of being in a pokeball; he had been so stupid to let that happen to him.

A large map of the Unova region was displayed on one of the walls, with a few sticky notes adorning it. Toys and the like lay scattered about the floor, while a large TV sat in the corner, a white game console in front of it with a weirdly shaped controller. Then Cubone spotted the pokeball he had come out of on the floor in front of him, along with a small bed that had his blue vest laying on it, wrinkly and dirty.

"Cubone?" he asked out loud, wondering who had brought him here as he looked around the room. It appeared to be empty besides himself, but then, who had let him out?

There was silence for a moment. Then the bedroom door creaked open and a young human boy peeked inside, his expression innocent, but nervous. When he laid eyes on the Cubone, he gasped and closed the door shut quickly. Cubone cocked his head in wonderment, then walked over with bone in hand and knocked on the door with it.

There was no answer. Cubone sighed and turned around, laying eyes on a desktop computer in the corner of the room. He approached it and leapt up onto the swivel chair, turning the computer on. A loud startup noise went through the room, and the door suddenly flew open.

"Hey, that's my computer!" the kid said, rushing forward towards it to check that it was alright. "My mom gave that to me, and I don't need some Pokemon to accidentally break it. She'll...kill...me..." The kid's indignation disappeared as he realized he was standing right in front of the Pokemon.

Cubone gave a deadpan look towards the kid, then turned back to the computer screen, opened a browser, and began typing in the search bar. The kid watched in amazement as the Pokemon typed in a rather practiced fashion, which was rather impressive considering his stubby paws not being as agile as a human's.

"Whoa, you can type?" the kid remarked. Cubone nodded, then pointed at the screen, where the kid saw a few words in the search bar.

"'Yes, now where am I?'" the kid read. "Oh, you're in my house." he answered, nodding as he smiled. At this obvious notion, the Cubone let out a sigh; leave it to fate that he end up with a human more dense than a Roggenrola. He typed some more.

"'Who are you?'" the kid read. "Oh, my name's Kevin." he answered. "I found your Poke ball in the forest, and your trainer's vest next to it. There wasn't much in there, just a couple spare poke balls. Were you guys separated or something?"

Cubone shook his head, and typed some more.

"'That's...my...vest.'" Kevin read as each word appeared on the screen. "Really? It doesn't look like it would fit you...and what does a Pokemon need clothing for?" he questioned. "I thought Pokemon weren't really bothered all that much by...well, you know." the kid said, blushing a bit.

Cubone looked down at his small, stumpy body, adjusting his skull mask a bit. Then he shrugged and typed again.

"'I need it to carry my equipment.'" Kevin read. "Wait...those poke balls are yours?"

Cubone nodded. Kevin looked puzzled.

"So, what does a Pokemon need with poke balls? Those are only for trainers, unless I'm missing something. You delivering them to someone?" he asked. "I would think a flying Pokemon would be faster and safer."

"Kevin!" a voice called from outside the door, and footsteps sounded, coming audibly closer. A middle-aged human woman came into the room, holding a laundry basket in her arms. "Would you mind getting...oh my goodness!" she said, interrupting herself as she jumped back at the sight of the Cubone, dropping her basket to the floor.

"Mom, it's alright!" Kevin said, waving his arms to grab her attention. "I, er, brought a friend home with me."

"Yes, I can see that." she said, her eyes not leaving Cubone, who simply stared right back. "Where did you find him?"

"I found a vest full of poke balls in the forest, but he was the only one inside." Kevin answered. Then he recoiled at the slightly upset look his mother gave him.

"Kevin, you know better than to steal Pokemon from other trainers." Kevin's mother said, wiping her brow and picking up the basket again. Cubone felt a small twinge of guilt go through him at her words. "I know you're excited to be a trainer, but that doesn't man you just take whatever lost equipment or Pokemon you find." she said, while Cubone looked down ashamedly.

"It was just lying there." Kevin said sheepishly, blushing a deep red.

"So you turn it in to the authorities, young man. That way you can give it to whomever it belongs to." Kevin's mother said sternly. Then she turned to Cubone, who quickly looked back up at her. "What kind of Pokemon are you dear? I've never seen your kind around here before." she asked.

"Cubone." the Pokemon said, both saying hello and answering her question at the same time. Kevin's mother smiled warmly at the Pokemon's answer, though her eyes still betrayed a hint of nervousness behind them. "Huh, a Cubone. I thought I recognized that mask. Are you looking for your trainer?"

Cubone shook his head, then without breaking eye contact with her, reached over to grab Kevin and pull him to his side, trying to look cute and happy. Kevin looked rather surprised at this, but then suddenly got what Cubone was trying to say..or at least, he almost did.

"Oh, um...he actually wants me to be his trainer now!" Kevin quickly said. Cubone resisted the urge the slap the kid across the face for the very idea, but knew he probably don't want to risk looking hostile in front of the two humans; he was lucky enough that he had been found and released by the kid at all.

Kevin's mother raised an eyebrow, peering at her son's uneasy expression. "Hmmm...I don't know. Are you sure?" she asked.

"Of course." her son replied gleefully.

"Not you, him." she said, nodding towards Cubone while her son looked rather put out."Are you sure you want to be his Pokemon? Kevin isn't exactly the most responsible of kids." she said, a knowing smile gracing her expression.

"Mom..." Kevin said through gritted teeth.

"Cu!" Cubone said, patting Kevin in a friendly manner.

"Well...alright." Kevin's mother said after a moment of thought. Cubone felt his heart leap with joy at her words. "I guess you can stay here then and go with him when he leaves to get his starter tomorrow. Arceus knows he needs all the help he can get." She turned and began walking down the hall. "You two behave yourselves now." she called.

Kevin beamed at Cubone. "I don't believe it. I'm not even a trainer yet and already I have another Pokemon to help me. Thanks Cubone!" he said, laughing a bit as he petted the latter's skull helmet.

Cubone really had to try this time to resist swinging his bone weapon across the kid's face, as he had no intention of joining the kid on his journey at all. But he knew that trying to explain what he actually wanted was pretty much hopeless...the humans would never understand after all.

"So, Cubone, uh, what do you wanna do today?" Kevin asked, scratching the back of his head. "I don't really know what Pokemon do for fun, I mean other than battling of course."

Cubone snorted at the thought of himself in a battle with Kevin. Probably one of the few fights he would actually stand a chance of winning, if he was lucky. He eyed the kid's smiling face again, gripping his weapon just a little tighter...

"Here, use the computer again...ooh, I gotta tell mom you can type!" Kevin said excitedly, before rushing out his bedroom door, leaving Cubone alone in the room. Cubone blinked, surprised at his newfound isolation, then looked at the large poster of the Unova region on the door. He peered at the yellow notes again, seeing the writing on them, reading things like the names of towns and certain Pokemon that were in the areas the notes covered. He found that something like this could be quite useful to have around, and turned towards the computer to quickly look for a small map he could print out.

It didn't take long before he found a printable version of the poster, this one with small side notes and a separate page with a list of known Pokemon on Unova. Cubone didn't even recognize half the names on said list, which was fine considering he had only been in Kanto until a few days ago. It would be that much more fun of a journey to see what was out there.

He clicked the print button on the page, when suddenly an error message popped up and said there was none available. He sighed in irritation; if only he had a-

"Hey Cubone!" Kevin said, sliding into the room with a small device in his hand. "Mom thought that was a pretty cool thing you knew how to do, and also, she gave me this!" He showed the device to Cubone, who instantly recognized it as a Pokedex. Cubone snatched the thing out of Kevin's hand, who did a double take at the sudden action while the Pokemon opened it and tapped a few buttons. Soon, a map of the region popped up on the screen, and Cubone beamed. This was precisely what he needed!

Then the Pokédex was taken out of his paws by Kevin, who looked at the map happily while Cubone looked shocked at Kevin having taken the device from him. "Man, this thing does everything!" he said, closing the map and studying the various functions and options, not noticing that Cubone was shaking in anger and about ready to tackle the human to the ground, or throw his bone at him, he hadn't decided yet...

"Oh, and Kevin!" a voice called, and the former's mother appeared at the door again. "I forgot to tell you, tomorrow you head down to Professor Juniper's to get your starter. Make sure you get up early, she only has a limited amount of them." she informed.

"Ok, thanks for letting me know mom." Kevin said, echoing Cubone's sentiments exactly. Suddenly, a grumbling noise went through the room, and both Kevin and his mother looked over at the Pokemon, who was glad that his blushing was hidden underneath his helmet.

"Er...I'll feed him right now." Kevin said, rubbing the back of his head nervously at the questioning look his mom was giving him. "Come on Cubone, let's head downstairs." he said, motioning towards the hallway.

Cubone nodded and followed behind the kid out the door, pausing only to smile up at Kevin's mom cutely. She seemed nice enough after all, even if her son annoyed him to no end. Then he went down the stairs, looking around at the rather large house he was in. He hadn't realized just how big the place was, and for only two people. He thought back to the cave that he had grown up at...and then stopped, feeling a little sick at the memories that suddenly returned.

"Um, Cubone?" he heard, and he looked over at Kevin, who was in the kitchen. "I uh, don't really know what you eat, to be honest."

Cubone rolled his eyes, then he walked over and opened one of the lower cabinets, peering inside for a moment before pulling out a box of cereal. Kevin watched in wonderment as the Pokemon opened the box and pulled out a handful of the sweet food, munching it down underneath his helmet.

"Do you want a bowl or milk?" Kevin asked. Cubone shook his head and walked over to the table, pulling himself onto a chair. Not that he really needed to be at the table, as evidenced by Kevin's puzzled expression, but it did make him feel a lot less wild and...Pokemony.

A moment passed with only the sound of crunching food going through the house. Then Kevin came over with a couple glasses of orange juice, giving one to Cubone, who took it with a nod and drunk it down. If the kid kept this up, he'd be actually tolerable.

"So Cubone, I've gotta head out later today to buy some stuff for the journey I start tomorrow. Do you wanna come with me?" Kevin asked. Cubone thought for a moment; while Kevin was the trainer here, at least for now, he figured it couldn't hurt to look around town and see where everything was. Who knew, maybe he'd find something worth buying...or stealing. This was a new region to him after all, he might as well get acquainted with the place.

"Cu." the Pokemon answered, chewing down another handful of cereal. Kevin stared at him, looking confused.

"Uh...was that a yes?" The kid asked, scratching his head and smiling nervously. Cubone's eyes widened, then he skull-palmed.

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated.**


	3. Heading Out

Chapter 3 - Heading Out

"Alright mom, I'm headed out with Cubone!" Kevin called out, opening the front door to head outside. Cubone stood next to him, looking bored, but inwardly, he was slightly nervous at the unknown world that lay beyond.

"Be safe!" Kevin's mom replied from upstairs. "Remember to head over to get your starter!"

"I will!" Kevin said, stepping out into the front porch and closing the door behind him. Then he paused in confusion for a moment, and opened the door again, revealing an annoyed looking Cubone.

"Oh hehe...sorry." Kevin said, rubbing the back of his head and blushing a little. Cubone rolled his eyes and stepped past Kevin, 'accidentally' hitting the boy's shin with his bone. Kevin winced in pain and followed the Pokemon out past the porch.

"So, where to first?" Kevin said, pulling his Pokédex out of his back pocket and pressing a few buttons as both he and Cubone stepped onto the sidewalk. A few error sounds came from the device, however, and Kevin grunted in frustration. "Where's the map?" the boy mumbled to himself.

Cubone sighed, and rubbed a paw down his skull; it was just one thing after another with this kid. He went up and tapped on the boy's leg, trying to get his attention.

"Not now, Cubone. I'm trying to get this thing to show me where the lab is." Kevin said, not taking his increasingly angry eyes off the Pokédex. Cubone narrowed his own, then he tossed his bone up into the Pokédex, knocking it out of the human's hands into the air.

"Ah!" Kevin cried, watching his device fly through the air. "Catch it, catch it!" he said quickly.

Cubone took one step back and caught the Pokédex, along with his weapon a second later. He laid his bone down on the ground and began fiddling with the device again, a few beeps sounding before a confirmation noise rang out. The Pokemon smiled and handed the Pokédex back to Kevin, who took it and bent down to Cubone's level, patting the latter on the head.

"Those were some good reflexes, Cubone." Kevin praised. "I think you'll do just fine in your first battle if you can listen to my commands that well."

Cubone's eyes widened, and he let out a low growl.

"Oh, the map works now!" Kevin said, oblivious to the Pokemon's anger as he stood back up and studied the Pokédex. "I guess you know how to work this thing better than me, huh?" he said, laughing a bit and walking down the sidewalk, following the path shown on the map. Cubone's eye twitched as he followed directly behind the human.

It wasn't too long of a walk before they entered into town. Building up to three stories tall framed the wide paved streets, mostly consisting of apartments. Cubone looked all around passively, watching as one girl carried her bike out of her house, then got on it and rode down the street towards them, waving at Kevin, who in turn waved back. Then she saw Cubone, and a look of surprise crossed her expression. She braked to a stop beside the two, her eyes focusing down at Cubone.

"Hey Kev, that your pokemon?" she asked, leaning on one leg to maintain her balance on the bike.

"Cu." Cubone said bluntly, his eyes half-lidded.

"Yes." Kevin responded, not noticing Cubone shaking his head. "I found him yesterday out in the forest."

"Really? Cool! How'd you capture him? You get a starter already?" she asked.

"I...uh...I think he was abandoned." the boy said nervously, rubbing the back of his head again.

Cubone smirked a bit at Kevin's explanation for how he had found the skull Pokemon, but then he remembered when he had tried to lie to Tepig and Watchog, and promptly scowled at the memory. The girl, on the other hand, cupped a hand over her mouth, looking sad.

"Oh, you poor thing." the girl said, getting off her bike and letting it fall to the pavement. Then, without warning, she bent down and hugged Cubone, who froze in shock at this sudden show of affection. "What kind of trainer would abandon such a cute pokemon like you?"

"Cubone cu!" Cubone cried, dropping his weapon and trying to push the girl off of him. But she was surprisingly strong, and stood up with him in her arms, laying him across them like one would with a baby human.

"Don't worry, little guy. Sandra will take care of you, and make sure you're never abandoned like that again!" she said, nuzzling the end of Cubone's skull. "Here, let's take off that skull, I want to see what you look like under there." she said, reaching a hand under Cubone's mask to try and pull it off. But Cubone held it down, staring at the girl in bewilderment, then he looked at Kevin for help, a pleading look in his eyes.

"Sandra, he's 'my' Pokemon." Kevin said, crossing his arms and stepping forward towards her. "He's agreed to come with 'me'."

"Oh...ok." Sandra said, pausing in her efforts to pull off the mask and looking disappointed. She unceremoniously dropped Cubone to the ground in front of Kevin, who picked himself up, grabbed his bone off the ground, and ran to hide behind Kevin's leg. "So where are you two headed?"

"I was, uh, heading to get my starter from Professor Juniper's." Kevin said. Sandra beamed, and Cubone's heart sank.

"Really? Me too!" she said, getting back onto her bike. "How about we go together? You can get on behind me, and Cubone can sit up front with me!" she said, patting her lap with a grin so sickening it made Cubone want to hurl.

"You know, that doesn't like a bad idea-Ow!" Kevin said, suddenly clutching his leg in pain after Cubone had dug his small claws into it. The pokemon quickly reached up into the boy's back pocket while the latter was bent over and pulled out the Pokédex, tapping a few buttons before a confirmation noise rang out from it.

"Cubone, what are you doing?" Kevin said, grabbing the device away from the Pokemon, who had already been holding it out to him. He looked down at the map. "The Pokemon center? What do we need to head there for?" Kevin asked.

Cubone suddenly collapsed to the ground, trying to look as tired and exhausted as possible. He let out heavy breaths, and groaned out loud, looking up at Kevin pitifully. The boy was confused by this sudden change in the Pokemon, while Sandra looked absolutely heartbroken.

"Aw, he needs a rest." she said. "Looks like he wants to head down to that center. You want me to take him?"

Cubone's eyes widened, and with sudden burst of energy, he leapt up into Kevin's arms, holding onto the boy tightly.

"Uh, it's ok Sandra, I'll take him myself." Kevin said, looking down at Cubone with a puzzled expression.

"Alrighty then, see you around Cubie!" Sandra said, taking off on her bike down the street. Cubone nearly gagged at the nickname she had made for him, but breathed a sigh of relief instead and loosened his grip on Kevin, who walked with a steady pace into town, carrying the Pokemon in his arms. Cubone patted the boy's arm gently; as annoying as the kid was, he figured in the grand scheme of things, he could've landed with someone worse. Much worse.

...

"Hello, welcome to the Pokemon center!" a nurse greeted as Kevin walked in. Cubone looked all around at the place, slightly intimidated by the tall dome-shaped ceiling and the amount of people wandering around the center. "Do you require assistance?"

"Uh, yeah." Kevin said. "My Cubone collapsed earlier, I think he might need to rest a bit."

"Oh, the poor dear." the nurse said, signaling to the main desk to send someone over. "I'll have someone here to help you immediately. Your name?"

"Kevin." the boy answered, both he and Cubone watching as an Audino came running towards them. "Kevin Gotchya."

"And your Pokemon's name?" the nurse said, jotting down the information on her clipboard.

"I'm sorry?" Kevin said, the Audino stopping in front of him and performing a small bow.

"Does your Pokemon have a nickname?" the nurse asked, nodding at Audino to take Cubone from the boy.

"Um...no." Kevin answered, handing over Cubone to Audino, who let this happen without any fuss. "Does he need one?"

"No, some trainers just like to give their Pokemon a name. Helps to tell them apart from others of their species, especially here, but it doesn't look like your Pokemon is native to this region, so no worries." the nurse explained, watching as Audino carried Cubone away past some large double doors into the nursing area within.

"Oh, ok then." Kevin said. "Will he be done soon?"

"They shouldn't be too long." the nurse answered.

...

"Alright deary, here we are." the Audino said, laying Cubone carefully on one of the multiple beds that lay inside the ward. "I am nurse Kare, and I will be caring for you today. Now, what seems to be the problem?" she asked, her paws held together in front of her as she awaited his response.

Cubone looked up at the Audino with an unsure expression. His first instinct had been to tell her to leave him alone, but everything about her, from the serene smile to the motherly tone of voice, just made something well up inside of him.

"Are you ok deary?" the Audino said, he wide innocent eyes creasing in concern after a moment had passed and he still had yet to answer her. Cubone nodded, still staring at her impassively. "Here, I'll be right back." she said, walking to the other end of the ward, where a large cabinet full of supplies lay. She grabbed a tongue depressor, a small flashlight and a blood pressure gauge, along with a pair of latex gloves. She turned and walked back to Cubone, setting everything on the table next to his bed.

"Lets do a general check-up." Kare said. She raised a glove to put it on, but then saw that the gloves clearly didn't match her paws. She blushed and tossed them aide into the trash bin. "Can you remove your mask?" she said, reaching a hand out towards him. Cubone's eyes widened, and he automatically held his mask on and leaned away from her. The Audino blinked, then just smiled and nodded, grasping one of the feelers on her ears. Cubone relaxed his hands, looking relieved.

"Please sit up." she said. Cubone did so, and she placed one paw on his back, the other placing the end of her feeler to his chest.

"Take a deep breath..."

...

"Alright, deary, you're all set!" Kare said, curling her feeler back into place. Cubone laid back on the bed, watching as the Audino cleaned up her equipment. Then she paused in her clean up and gazed directly at Cubone.

"Deary, what's the matter? Physically, you seem to be fine, but I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." she said, her tone a little pleading.

Cubone looked away from her. "It's nothing...it's just..." he said, pausing. Then he mumbled something so low that not even Kare could hear him.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" she said, leaning an ear towards him.

"You remind me of my mom." Cubone repeated, blushing profusely.

Meanwhile, Kare looked both surprised and a little touched at his words. "Oh...um...well..." she stammered, unsure of what to say. "I uh, trust that your mother is nice?"

"She was." Cubone said, now looking a little downtrodden. His eyes even appeared to be a little watery, but he did his best to hold his memories back.

Kare stared at Cubone for a moment. Then she suddenly leaned forward and embraced the latter tightly, rubbing Cubone's back with a gentle paw. For a couple minutes, Cubone just sat there, accepting the hug without complaint. He was going to return it when suddenly...

"Kare, what are you doing?" a voice said behind the two. The Audino gasped and let go of Cubone, turning around to face the human nurse that stood looking at them with a suspicious expression.

"Oh...uh, I was just checking his heartbeat." Kare said, although Cubone knew that all that the human was hearing was the Pokemon nurse's name over and over. He shook his head; didn't she know that humans couldn't understand-

"Did you really have to pull your whole head on the patient in the process?" the nurse said in response, causing Cubone to perform a double take.

"I guess not." Kare answered, now blushing with her hands behind her back.

"You can understand her?!" Cubone suddenly asked to the human, more than a little excited.

The nurse looked up at him, looking apologetic. "I'm terribly sorry if my assistant offended your personal space in any way. She's still learning the ropes around here. Do you require anything?" the nurse asked, while Kare smiled over at him.

Cubone tilted his head in confusion, then looked over at Kare. "How can she understand you?" he asked. Kare looked a little surprised at the question, but answered him nonetheless.

"She's been my trainer for awhile now. I guess she can just read me very well." Kare explained. "But she's only just met you, I'm afraid."

Cubone slumped onto his mattress, disappointment welling through him. He didn't exactly know why he was so upset that a human couldn't understand him, but it left a bitter taste in his mouth that it was such a hassle to communicate with humans at all.

"Are you alright?" the human nurse asked, growing concerned at Cubone's spiteful expression. "You're not angry, are you?"

Cubone shook his head, waving the nurse away. The woman frowned, then turned to Kare. "Are you done with him yet?"

Cubone heard the two talking as Kare discussed her findings about him, but he hardly listened. He had only come here in the first place as an excuse to get away from that girl earlier. Then it suddenly occurred to him that trainers would leave their Pokemon at centers while they were out and about, and he stood up. What if the kid had left to get his starter already without him? He clenched his weapon tightly, and leapt off the bed, ignoring the surprised looks from Kare and the nurse as he rushed towards the doors and...

"Cubone!" Kevin said as his Pokemon came through, stopping in his tracks. The boy bent down and scooped the Cubone up in his arms; he had apparently been waiting in front of the doors, trying to peer inside the small circular windows. "I was wondering when you'd finish up."

Cubone stared at the kid, conflicting feelings of anger and relief going through him, anger at having been picked up and coddled like he was still a baby, and relief that the boy was still there. He decided against struggling out of Kevin's arms, and instead just rested his head on the boy's chest, trying to at least look like he cared about him.

"Everything seems to have checked out just fine." the human nurse said. "It appears he was just feeling a little homesick."

"What? But why would he be-ow!" the boy cried, stopping as Cubone pinched his arm hard. Kevin looked down at the Pokemon, who shifted his eyes towards the exit. The trainer frowned, but got the message.

"Um...ok then. Thank you." Kevin said.

"Audino Di!" Kare called. Cubone looked back at her and gave a small smile.

"You know Cubone, we seriously need to work on your hitting me every time you get upset." Kevin said.

Cubone sniffed.

"Shall we go back to Sandra's?" Kevin said, smirking.

Cubone's eyes widened, and he made a mental note to maybe be a little nicer to Kevin in the future.

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated. If you have the time, I recommend checking out my other stories as well, I promise they're worth it.**


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